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Lamp

100–1 BCE
This object has related works. See
bronze
Overall: 9.6 cm (3 3/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1953.12
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

Romans used olive oil as their main lamp fuel.

Description

Bronze lamps like this one were used to create artificial light. A wick was placed in the nozzle and oil poured into the opening below the handle. Here the handle terminates in an elaborate boar’s head, with its bristly hair indicated with tiny lines. When the lamp was lit, figural handles, like this boar, would cast complex and interesting shadows.

This lamp and stand were not found together, but illustrate how they would have been used in antiquity.
Lamp

Lamp

100–1 BCE

Italy, Roman

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